Replacement headlights

[McCoyAZ]

Is there any reason that the newer style Projector Headlights that are 7" round won't fit into the buckets of a '64 C10 Stepside?

I saw some in a Jeep yesterday and they lookd like they would be a direct swap.

I would assume they would need new wiring with relays and all but what if anything else needs to be considered?

Thanks again,

scott

[kieth]

If they will fit why not, and do the relay deal anyway, I bought some 5" halogen headlights for my 66 and man they are brighter. Those projector headlights would really light up the night. Kieth

ps the relay wiring is easy and it makes the load on the old wiring harness a lot lighter.

[markeb01]

Post #5 on the following thread shows and later explains what is needed to install Hella E-Code H4 lamps:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ighlight=bulbs

[theastronaut]

Whatever you decide to do, make sure the lighs have a sharp cut-off on low beam to keep glare minimized for oncoming traffic. Also avoid cheap aftermarked lights that don't project a good pattern, even if they do have a decent cut off.

First picture is Delta Tech 7" classic convex Ecode headlights with Silverstar Ultra 55/60 watt H4 bulbs and the stock wiring harness. Definitly an upgrade from sealed beams but still has room for improvement. Don't waste your money on the Silverstar bulbs, they're not much brighter. The Delta Tech housings are just remarketed "Weisem" brand housings that are made in china. Don't over pay for them (about $85 bucks from Classic Industries) like I did.



Now I'm running NOS Cibie Z-Beam's with standard clear 80/100 watt Hella H4 bulbs and an upgraded wiring harness. The power comes straight off the battery (with a fuse right at the battery to protect the curcuit) using a 10ga wire and runs through 50 amp relays controlled by the factory dimmer switch. This takes all the resistance off the stock harness and switch, and there is almost zero voltage drop from the battery to the headlights. The harness must be upgraded if you run over 55/60 watt bulbs or you'll overload the stock harness.

Here's a shot of the harness. I also used ceramic connectors so the higher wattage bulbs don't melt them. Be sure to use metal/glass headlight housings if upgrading to higher wattage bulbs.







Here is the same shot with the upgraded Cibie housings, 80/100 bulbs, and relay harness. Notice how much wider the beam pattern is than with the cheaper housings. The 80/100 watt bulbs are a ton brighter also, and with the low beam cut off, I'm not blinding anyone. Had them in there almost a year and haven't been flashed yet.



Hella, Cibie, and Bosch all make great, high quality 7" H4 housings that have a sharp low beam cut off pattern. We have 165mm rectangle Hella's in my dad's '97 S10 SS and they are just as good as my Cibie's. I've bought a pair of Bosch 7" H4's for my '66 C10 and they seem to be good quality too, although I haven't got to use them yet.

Hope this helps!

[theastronaut]

BTW, don't put HID bulbs/ballast in a headlight made for an incandescent bulb. The reflector and lens is made for a small light source (the filament) and the larger light source of the HID bulb (the whole bulb glows, like a florescent bulb) will cause the reflector/lense to scatter the light pattern, and cause too much glare for oncoming traffic. Stick with regular bulbs in a housing made for bulbs, and if you want to upgrade to HID's, use factory supplied projectors (BMW 3 series, Honda S2000 are popular swaps) so that they produce a proper beam pattern.

[64fleetside]

Are those Cibies DOT legal? Where did you find them?

[Slow Build]

Thanks for the detailed info.

[McCoyAZ]

Astro::

Where did the harness come from?

I like the idea of the lights, even though they are not projector lamps.

Not sure if that matters, just thought the idea of projector lamps was pretty good looking.

[theastronaut]

Originally Posted by 64fleetside

Are those Cibies DOT legal? Where did you find them?

The housings are marked "DOT" on them, so they are street legal. The 80/100 watt bulbs are not legal, but with the cut-off low beam pattern they don't put out enough glare to cause any discomfort for oncoming traffic. I also have them aimed slightly down, so when topping a hill they aren't shining straight up in the air. We don't have annual vehicle inspections here, but I'm sure they'd easily pass, especially if swapped back to 55/60 watt bulbs.

As far as finding a set, they have been out of production since the early 90's. I searched online for months looking for a set but never could find a pair in good condition that I could afford. Daniel Stern Lighting has NOS ones for $111.00 each, but I was trying to find some cheaper. I lucked up on these by google searching "Cibie 70-34-02" (the part number) and a guy had just posted on a forum that he bought a Jeep and a pair of NOS Z beams came with it. I signed up and sent him a PM to see if he'd sell them. Ended up getting them for $100 bucks shipped! I've seen a NOS pair sell on a Porsche forum for $245 plus shipping. Used ones have popped up on ebay farly often for the last couple months, but you have to know the lens pattern to be able to pick them out since they usually aren't listed as being Z beams.

Astro::

Where did the harness come from?

I like the idea of the lights, even though they are not projector lamps.

Not sure if that matters, just thought the idea of projector lamps was pretty good looking.

I bought the parts to make my own harness (H4 Ceramic connectors, 50 amp Dual 87 relays and connector kit) from Rays Auto in Marietta GA. Very nice quality pieces, and he ships them out fast. IIRC, it was about 50 dollars shipped for everything. He also sells pre-made harnesses on ebay, I think they have they 12 and 14 gauge wire. Plenty sufficient for 55/60 watt bulbs, but not sure if they'd cause any voltage drop for 80/100w bulbs? I used 10ga on mine, probably overkill. The thicker 10ga wire does make it more difficult to assemble the connectors though; I'll probably use 12ga when I build the harness for my '66 C10.

[McCoyAZ]

Great discussion guys.

I stumbled onto a How To page after reading some of your replies and it is located here:
http://www.dimebank.com/Light-up.html

Interesting stuff.

[1Bad62Pro/Street]

Headlights:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=395480

[theastronaut]

^^ Those are fine if you only ride around in the daytime, or in the city with street lights so you don't really need good headlights that put out useable light. The blue tint does nothing to help you see better since blue light scatters the most of any color and the human eye has a hard time focusing on the color blue. Not to mention that any filter (tinted bulbs are just a light filter) has to filter out every other color except blue, so you're wasting alot of light output. Those housings (or anything else) that is advertised as "DOT Approved" is usually just false advertising. From what I've researched, the NHTSA has no authority to approve the legality of any part. The DOT marking denotes that the manufacture is making the part in compliance with federal law concerning that part. Who's to say that a chinese headlight housing meets the federal standards for automotive headlamps? Who knows if the chinese manufacture builds their parts to the applicable US standards? My bet is they don't, and even if they did, who wants lights that may not even perform as well as a regular sealed beam bulb?

Unless its a show only vehicle, my money is going to be spent on good quality E-Code housings that produce useable light output with minimal glare.

Another fun fact: There's not really such a thing as "Xenon" incandescent bulbs. Incandescent bulbs use a filament to illuminate the bulb, and an inert gas to prolong the life of the filament. Xenon lamps do no have a filament; they work much like a florescent bulb where the gas inside the bulb is illuminated. Even if an incandescent bulb had xenon gas in it, it wouldn't cause the bulb to work like a real xenon bulb.

There is way too much misinformation about automotive lighting floating around the internet!!
Posted via Mobile Device

[joedoh]

I have a set of xenarc sylvania 7" units I will run in my 65, they still sell them on suvlights.com. They are a new reflector set up for HID low beam and halogen high beam instead of a garbage retrofit in a halogen housing. not cheap, and you have to mod the headlight bucket to fit, but very bright. I will post pictures of the install when I get the truck back.

[tooslo60]

For those of us with the 4 eyed grills (60-61) you can use BMW E30 (325) headlights 84-91 or 92.

[1Bad62Pro/Street]

http://www.lmctruck.com/features/cbe/CBE_15.htm

https://www.google.com/#hl=en&safe=o...iw=800&bih=511

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...I6W10AGW5ICoDQ